Dems, GOP senators push cyber bill for Homeland after breach

A bipartisan group of senators is pushing to strengthen the authority of the Homeland Security Department to thwartcyberattackson government networks and websites after a massive government data breach.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who has spearheaded cyber legislation in the past, led lawmakers on Wednesday in introducing a measure that would allow the Homeland secretaryto take the offensive in intrusion detection and prevention.

The legislation, which could be voted on as early as the first week in August, comes after hackers stole Social Security identification numbers and other highly sensitive data from more than 21 million people.